Poole-based sailor Pip Hare crosses finish line of the Vendee Globe
After over three months at sea, alone, Poole-based sailor Pip Hare crossed the finish line of the Vendee Globe at 12.57am on 12 February 2021.
She is the first British sailor to finish this edition of the iconic round-the-world race and 19th overall.
She’s now only the 8th woman in history to complete the course.
It took 95 days, 11 hours, 37 mins and 30 seconds of racing till Pip crossed the finish line.
After finishing Pip said: "The last six hours were the most stressful of the whole race. I was doing pretty well, really catching the boys up and then the sea state started to get quite slammy and my keel lines have broken three times and literally I just went over a wave, bang, and I knew straight away it was the keel lines. And I have run out of spare keel lines.
And so I had to get down inside the boat to the keel and work a solution with the old lines. But there were fishing boats everywhere and then I came up on deck and the starboard side of the pulpit which had got bent, that broke off."
When asked if the finish could not come soon enough, Pip added: "We – me and Medallia – are pretty pleased to be here and this boat is sick of me."
Our Sports presenter Andrew Pate has been speaking to Pip's sister Rachael Durneen in Brighton.
Racheal told him what she and the family were up to, when Pip crossed the finish line:
Pip's sister says they're extremely proud of her achievements, but admits the last ninety five days haven't been easy: